The present invention relates to golf club heads, and more particularly, to wood type golf club heads having an aerodynamic upper surface to reduce drag and increase club head speed and stability as it is swung during the execution of a golf swing.
Wood type golf clubs are used for hitting a golf ball a longer distance, such as drivers, which are generally used for the first shot of a given hole from a teed position to obtain maximum distance, and are also used from the fairway for subsequent shots that also require the ball to travel a long distance toward or onto the putting green. The distance a golf ball travels is determined by the club head speed at the moment of impact and the weight of the club head, in accordance with well known physical laws. Conventional golf clubs are provided with a generally flat, broad club face and an asymmetric overall shape. Such designs have been known extensively for a number of years. This typical wood type golf club head, although it has some aerodynamic characteristics, when swung creates a vacuum at the rear of the club had resulting in considerable aerodynamic drag, which reduces the speed of the club head for a given force executed by a golfer.
Various efforts have been made to increase club head speed by creating a controlled, favorable turbulence which reduces the area of the vacuum thereby reducing aerodynamic drag, as shown in my prior U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,468,544 and 4,828,265, among others. Another patent of interest is U.S. Pat. No. 2,550,846 to Milligan, which shows a golf club head having a shallow recess in the top surface and bottom of the club head. A patent to Gordos (U.S. Pat. No. 4,065,133) shows a golf club head having a plurality of spaced grooves which are deep, but which are relatively small and narrow compared to the overall size of the club head. A patent to Goldberg (U.S. Pat. No. 3,997,170) shows a club head having a plurality of parallel grooves which are also relatively shallow with respect to the overall club head size. A patent to Bock (U.S. Pat. No. Des. 240,748) shows a golf club head with an air foil rear surface. The patent to Sinclair (U.S. Pat. No. 4,900,029) relates to a golf club head having a vertical air foil and a cavity formed in the upper surface to achieve less drag as the club head is swung. The patent to Okumoto et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,092,599) shows a golf club having a stripe-like projection on its upper surface which extends across the full range of the transverse direction and in conformity with the planar shape of the face to create an aerodynamic effect to increase club head speed.
Still another golf club head is shown in the design patent to Henrich (U.S. Pat. No. Des. 192,515) having an aerodynamic upper surface with a pair of air foil members extending rearwardly from the ball striking face. A design patent to Newton (U.S. Pat. No. Des. 185,717) shows a wood type golf club head with a thin member on the upper surface thereof. Finally, the patent to Phillips (U.S. Pat. No. Des. 183,180) shows a golf club head, which appears to be a putter, having a triangularly-shaped upper surface.